The Concorde is set to fly again

The unthinkable is about to happen: Concorde, the original diva of the skies, is all set to make a comeback, nearly two decades after she was retired. Club Concorde, a group of enthusiasts, claims to have raised funding to the tune of GBP 120 million to put the world’s first supersonic passenger aircraft back in the sky.

Fight or flight? After the tragic crash of 2003 crash that claimed 113 lives, British Airways and Air France retired their Concorde fleets. The airlines cited “technical and safety challenges”, dwindling passenger confidence and high operational costs as reasons.

Now, Club Concorde plans “to purchase one of the Concorde (based in France) and operate her as a private, heritage aircraft under neutral livery”. The club will bear the costs, and also finance the construction of maintenance and display hangars at both the French and UK bases. Taking the project further, it plans to create display installations and museum areas, with restaurants and a memorabilia shop in London and Paris in the works too.

“Now that money is no longer the problem, it’s over to those who can help us make it happen, without financial risk to themselves. This is where the global Concorde fraternity must keep up the pressure, as time is running out,” states an emphatic Paul James, Club Concorde’s President. The club is hopeful of getting the vessel in the air by 2019, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Concorde’s first flight.

The silver arrow In its day, the Concorde was a favourite with celebrities and high-rollers. Elton John, Mick Jagger, Joan Collins, Robert Redford, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Rod Stewart, Micheal Jackson, Paul McCartney, Richard Gere and Sting have all travelled on Concorde. While Prince Charles and the Queen flew occasionally, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, would often drop her kids to school in London at 8.30am, take the 10.30am Concorde, and reach New York at 9.30am (yes!), in time for her Weight Watchers meetings and speeches. As expected, the on-board experience was top rate: leather-uphostered tray tables, lavender and cream blankets, champagne and caviar served on Wedgewood crockery…

Now, some of that is likely to be back. Is it too soon to be building castles in the air?